Bloodhounds
Bloodhounds is the eighteenth episode of Gundam Build Fighters . Synopsis The Thai champion Luang Dallara has fallen! Luang, who once fought a fierce battle with Sei and Reiji, was defeated by the Renato brothers of Argentina, dark horse contenders in the tournament. Their trick of destroying an opponent's Gunpla without using weapons, as if by magic, is a power they have kept in reserve until the tournament finals. In their second battle, these Renato brothers now face Meijin Kawaguchi. Kawaguchi presses forward with a frontal attack, but finds himself in peril thanks to the Renato brothers' clever tactics. Plot The episode begins with the battle between Luang and the Renato Brothers. At first the ZM-D11GRB Abigorbine is seen to have the upper hand in close combat. However when the RGM-79K9 GM Sniper K9 attacks with its beam guns, the Abigorbine's joints suddenly explode, leaving it defenseless, which lets the GM Sniper K9 destroy it. It switches back to the post-credit scene of the previous episode, where Sei and Reiji was shocked that Luang is eliminated from the tournament. In the break time between battle, The Renato Brother commented that many fans only care about the Meijin, but they decided to brush it off, instead focusing on tuning their gunpla so they can defeat Meijin and humiliate him. Meanwhile, Mao shows up in Sei and Reiji's room despite being knocked out. Vowing to help Sei and Reiji until the end of the tournament, Mao reveals that he has a date with Misaki. While waiting for Mao, Sei, China, and Reiji encounter Aila, who ends up telling the trio her name was "Aina", and this ends up turning the outing into a double date. While Reiji and Aila wolf down stacks of food, Mao interrupts them to explain that his "date" with Misaki ended with a slap in the face. The night before the match, the Renato brothers finish their work on their Gunpla. During the match, the GM Sniper K9 battles against the PPMS-18E Kämpfer Amazing, piloted by Meijin Kawaguchi. Kawaguchi quickly maneuvers the Kämpfer Amazing to an area where there are only three effective sniping locations that the GM could attack him, and from that position he proceeds to lay down supressive attacks as a way to flush out the GM Sniper K9. From one of the vantage points, the GM Sniper K9 separates its K9 Dog Pack then sends it down the building it was positioned in. After the Hound arrives at its position, the GM Sniper K9 starts its sniping attacks against the Kämpfer Amazing. The Kämpfer Amazing tries to attack the GM Sniper K9 head on, which makes it attack the Kämpfer Amazing with its sniper rifle, but the Kämpfer Amazing's armor is able to defend against the GM Sniper K9's beam attack from its sniper rifle. Then from the behind, the Hound attacks the Kämpfer Amazing, which makes its Beam Rifle and right leg weapon container detach and fall to the ground. The Kämpfer Amazing is put in a tight situation, ignoring the former head-on assault and focusing on evading the Hound's attacks, eventually firing at the GM Sniper K9's sniping point with its Rocket Launcher, forcing the GM Sniper K9 to retreat from its sniping position and land onto the ground. With its deadly dual attack tactics with the Hound, and through the use of wire traps, the GM Sniper K9 forces the Kämpfer Amazing to retreat and hide in a partially destroyed Stadium. China is surprised that the Renatos used bombs in a match, and Ral believes that they are not playing true Gunpla Battle. With Kämpfer firmly in their trap, The Hound then sends out a container on its back to the facility's location, and unleashes the Bloodhound Squad (8x 1/144 Zeon Soldier figurines) to plant bombs onto the Kämpfer Amazing's joints, then detonating it. GM Sniper K9 then heads into the facility to confirm the kill, but is suddenly attacked by the Kämpfer Amazing, which destroys the GM Sniper K9's sniper rifle. Allan reveals to the brothers that he applied grease prior to the match, figuring that they planted explosives on the Abigorbine's joints. The GM Sniper K9 tries to attack with its beam guns, but they are destroyed. The Kämpfer Amazing then attacks with its beam saber, but the GM Sniper K9 punches the Kämpfer easily. Sei wonders if they used the Trans-Am System, but Ral points out that only the head cameras changed to red. Thus, signifying the activation of the anti-Newtype OS, the EXAM System. The GM Sniper K9 rapidly attacked with its beam sabers, while having the Hound giving support from the side lines, rendering the Kämpfer Amazing heavily damaged and grounded. The Renatos proclaim that Tatsuya doesn't deserve to be the Meijin and that through their "war", they'll defeat him. As the GM Sniper K9 moved in for the kill, The Kämpfer Amazing fired up its thrusters and reaches out for the right leg weapon container it had dropped before, taking out its 5-barrel Gatling Gun and attacking with it. The GM Sniper K9 was shredded to pieces due to the attack. As a last ditch effort, the Hound rushes head-on to destroy the Kämpfer, but is quickly destroyed. After the battle, despite congratulations from Allan, Yuki is disappointed with ruining the Kämpfer. From the stands, Sei and Reiji vow to push to join Yuki in the next round. Somewhere else in the Arena, Baker was reassuring Mashita that Sei and Reiji will be defeated by Nils Nielsen in their next round. Stats Characters *Sei Iori *Reiji *Luang Dallara *Mario Renato *Julio Renato *Tatsuya Yuuki *Allan Adams *Ricardo Fellini *Mr. Ral *Mao Yasaka *China Kousaka *Aila Jyrkiäinen *Misaki *Baker *Nils Nielsen Mobile Weapons *Abigorbine *PPMS-18E Kämpfer Amazing *RGM-79K9 GM Sniper K9 Trivia * Sei and China are in front of a restaurant called "Arc Angel", a reference to the Archangel-class ship from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. * The match between the Kämpfer Amazing and the GM Sniper K9 is a either a reference or spiritual rematch of the Battle of Riah in Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket. In that battle, the MS-18E Kämpfer destroyed a number of RGM-79SP GM Sniper IIs before they could get off a shot. ** Having exhausted most of its weapons, the Kämpfer Amazing lures the GM Sniper K9 back to a discarded weapon binder. The original Kämpfer did something similar when facing the RX-78NT-1 Gundam "Alex", falling back to retrieve a chain mine from pre-positioned trailer truck. ** The weapon the Kämpfer Amazing retrieves is a gatling, which it then uses to thoroughly perforate the GM Sniper K9. This is a reversal of original Kämpfer's fate, where it was destroyed by the Gundam Alex's 90mm Gatlings. * The Renato brothers utilize bomb tactics based on those of Zeon in the One Year War. ** Their signature move, Operation Time Stop, is named and based on the plot of the Mobile Suit Gundam episode Time, Be Still. ** Their trip-wire bombs are visually identical to those used by Zeon soldiers to attack Jaburo from the inside in A Wish of War Orphans. * The Ruined city that the battle took place is the one in Garma's Fate. Just like that episode, the Kämpfer Amazing takes shelter in a dome very similar to the one the White Base hid within.